CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. CEO George Kurtz co-authored the article book It’s often referred to as the bible of computer security. But when it comes to crisis management, it stands on shakier ground.
in mail On social media platform X early Friday morning about a failed software update. has crashed Speaking of countless computer systems around the world, Kurtz made it clear that the incident was not a cyberattack, and that his company had identified the problem and released a “fix.” What he didn’t say—at least initially—was the magic phrase that PR experts advise all companies to shout from the rooftops at times like these: “I’m sorry.”
Kurtz’s PR blunder, which he later corrected on a TV show. appearance And follow up Formulations Crisis communications experts said the delay in sending the message later that morning could have been due to several reasons. One possible reason was the rush to include too much detail about the company’s response in the initial message. Another could be a desire to avoid legal liability.
But more likely, the lack of remorse stems from the IT industry’s long-standing struggle to communicate in a more personalized, less robotic way with the general public.
“A CEO needs a nuanced, emotionally honest response,” said Davia Temin, founder and CEO of crisis communications firm Temin & Co. “This is a response that has been refined by a legal team with litigation in mind. It takes almost no responsibility, which is what makes the apologies so powerful. It also puts Kurtz in the position of being the voice of an AI — a soulless robot. In fact, ChatGPT does a better job of sounding concerned than it is.”
CrowdStrike did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its CEO’s initial statement.
Other PR consultants were more generous in their assessment of Kurtz’s handling of the situation, but all agreed that not apologizing at the outset was unwise. CrowdStrike shares fell more than 11% — their biggest drop since November 2022.
“The formula is always the same, no matter what — you start by saying there was a mistake, and you apologize for it,” said Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communications at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. “That statement that came out is the kind of statement you hear from IT people all the time. They don’t think about the human side, they just want to get the job done.”
“The early morning post looks like it was written to IT departments,” says Ron Kolb, a former corporate public relations executive who is now a consultant at DePaul University’s School of Communication. “It’s important to allay concerns, start resolving the issue and apologize. All three of those things need to be done in the same email.”
This critical situation has highlighted the challenges the technology sector faces in building human connections, but this is nothing new.
Comedy series like Silicon Valley And Britain IT crowd Tech workers have been derided by some as arrogant and out of touch. Industry leaders who can communicate well with the general public, such as Apple founder Steve Jobs, have honed these skills despite—or perhaps because of—the fact that they are often swayed by their own personal preferences. scarcity of technical skills.
Experts say these failures are compounded when a crisis hits. But they’re not fatal. Most public relations experts gave Kurz a “B” for his overall response so far, noting that his subsequent statements have improved considerably. And his apology may not end there for some time.
“While I respect George’s instinct to acknowledge and apologize, the real apology is more likely to come when clients call,” said Malik Khan, an analyst at Morningstar.
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